The Galen Centre urges a national health and social insurance scheme with employer-employee contributions, removal of sugar subsidies, and scrapping of outpatient/specialist charges at public facilities to better fund health, aged care, and combat diabetes.
The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, led by CEO Azrul Khalib, has renewed its advocacy ahead of the 2026 budget for a national health and social insurance scheme to support both health and aged care in Malaysia. Khalib suggests that adopting contribution rates similar to the Social Security Organisation—1.75% from employers and 0.5% from employees—could yield at least RM6 billion annually. These funds would enhance treatment options, increase healthcare human resources, and provide crucial resources during crises, while ensuring the sustainability of aged care.
Khalib also calls for the complete elimination of sugar subsidies and for sugar to be removed from the schedule of controlled items under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011. He argues that RM500 million spent annually on sugar subsidies negates the RM300 million collected from the sugar-sweetened beverages tax and undermines the Ministry of Health’s strategies against diabetes and other non-communicable diseases, which result in significant loss of funds and lives each year.
Additionally, Khalib supports abolishing the RM1 and RM5 fees for outpatient and specialist care at government facilities, asserting that such minimal charges perpetuate misconceptions about the real cost of public healthcare in Malaysia.
